Gypsy Moth Prothoracicotropic Hormone - ACS Symposium Series

Chapter 4 Gypsy Moth Prothoracicotropic Hormone Progress Toward Identification

Downloaded by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on May 28, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 25, 1991 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1991-0453.ch004

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Thomas J. Kelly , Edward P. Masler , Robert A. Bell , Belgaum S. Thyagaraja , Robin E. Davis , Howard W. Fescemyer , and Alexej B. Borkovec 2

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Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705 RSRS Central Silk Board, C.R. Nagar 571 313, India, and Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

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The processes of molting and metamorphosis in insects are regulated by a neuropeptide, prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) that acts through the stimulation of ecdysteroid synthesis and secretion by the prothoracic glands. PTTH exists in various insect species as a family of peptides comprised of two major classes that fall within the following mass ranges: large PTTH, 11-27 kD; small PTTH, 4-7 kD. In the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, we estimate ranges of 11-15 kD and 4-6 kD for large and small PTTH,respectively,from both larval and pupal brains. PTTH activity, with a molecular mass of